Wedding Venue Issue

[MervynTheMouse]

Earlier this year my DD and her partner booked a wedding venue. Both myself and DH as well as SIL's parents were at the initial meeting. The couple had reiterated that the wedding was to be dog friendly to accommodate their small breed dog. On the day of booking the dog was present and the wedding co ordinator at the venue made a big fuss of it as she had the same breed.

The wedding is to be held in a tipi style venue and on day of booking the co ordinator stated that the dog would be no issue but would need to be removed from the tipi when meals were served. At this point it was suggested a dog sitter that worked for the venue could help and walk the dog whilst the meal was eaten, returning him afterwards.

Contracts were sent over and signed, almost everything is now fully paid for. Crucially dogs are not mentioned in the contract at all.

After a discussion today with the co ordinator about the dog sitter it became apparent through an email that DD had been misled, she asked for clarification and the venue is now saying dogs are not allowed in the tipi at all. This is not what was agreed at that first meeting.

DD has spoken to the venue and reiterated that initially she was told by the co ordinator that the only time dogs were not allowed was during the meal. The co ordinator is now speaking to management and DD will be told tomorrow of that outcome.

We are 7 weeks away from the wedding at this point. Both DD and her partner would be extremely upset to not be able to include the dog in their day, especially as that was their only request with the venue in the first place.

Any advice?

Does she have it in writing that she was told the dog could be there part of the time?

Sadly not, but six of us were left in no doubt as to the order of things and the inclusion of him.
The contracts sent over email the following week make no mention of dogs at all so no alarm bells were ringing until today when it was casually dropped into an email that he wouldn't be allowed in at all due to 'health & safety'.

It's frustrating and they should allow the dog. That said, the dog could come for some photos or not at all. The dog won't care.

The dog won’t. Be they very much will. They have no children, have no plans for them and their dog is very much with them at all times really.
it’s an extremely small wedding, under 40 guests and he’s an essential part of it to them

Just spoken to DD again and apparently the original wedding planner isn’t the one who’s now their main contact so going to try and contact her tomorrow for some clarity.

Surely this dog is an assistance dog :-)

Oh I like your thinking….
DD is actually disabled so wouldn’t be a stretch.

That's genius.

I know it's tempting but please don't lie about it being an assistance dog.
It makes it really hard for people who have genuine trained dogs because venues think they're trying it on.
My niece has an assistance dog and was utterly humiliated by portmerion some time ago basically accusing her of lying.

Trying to get your pet in somewhere by falsely claiming it's an assistance dog is not ok. They are clearly not trained assistance dogs and it's obvious then when people like my niece show up with a vest wearing, actual assistance dog they're viewed with suspicion and given the third degree about the nature of their disability and what the dog does for them.

Update
Venue has spoken to the original wedding planner and confirmed that the dog will be allowed in all aspects of the wedding except for the meal (which a sitter had already been arranged for as agreed initially)

I think it was just a lot of non communication between various wedding co ordinations but thankfully the small ring bearer gets to keep his very important place at his humans wedding.

That's a good result. I'm glad their dog will be there.

I absolutely agree with this. I think it's awful to lie about a dog being an assistance dog.

OP, I'm glad it all got sorted out for your DD.

I don’t think she wants a fucking dog at her wedding. Just getting the dog to carry the rings.

How unnecessarily nasty.

This is DD and SIL's wedding, if they wanted a herd of sodding cows there then thats their prerogative.
They've worked bloody hard to buy a home and afford a small, intimate wedding and they should have exactly what they want and exactly what was agreed with the original planner. This thread was never about opinions on dogs at weddings, it was about a major change to something that was agreed by the venue.

FWIW DD is registered physically disabled. She does have a blue badge. She is extremely reliant on the dog for comfort and calming. Him not being at the wedding would have been a huge deal for her and for her anxiety.

How nice!! Absolutely no need to be so bloody rude.

It’s not ridiculous that this person, who I assume is a grown woman, wants her dog with her. Pets are very much a member of the family. Why shouldn’t her dog be there? Especially given that the venue said the dog could be.

While I agree about the lying why is is "fucking ridiculous" that the bride wants her dog there?
I prefer my dog to most of my family and as long as the dog isn't distressed by the event then why the hell not?

> If she’s so reliant on a dog then she needs proper help and treatment

Or how about she just has a dog? Not everyone is exactly the same as you (thank goodness)

Oh, so he is an assistance dog?
Please accept my sincere apologies. It read like he wasn't and it was just that you thought it was a good idea to pretend he was.